JP4125220B2 - Inkjet recording apparatus and ink tank - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus and an ink tank including an ink tank holder to which an ink tank for storing ink supplied to recording means can be attached.

  Conventionally, in ink jet recording apparatuses that eject ink droplets and record, dye ink has been the center, but the importance of pigment ink has been recognized from the viewpoint of light resistance and gas resistance, and special colors (especially black) With regard to the above, pigment ink is used. In addition, since the images recorded by the ink jet recording apparatus have been increased in recent years, the applications required for the ink jet recording apparatus are for fields that require light resistance and gas resistance, such as for poster output and photographic image output. It has reached. In response, development of inkjet recording devices using all-color pigment inks has been progressing in recent years, but there are still some parts of pigment inks that are not as good as dye inks in terms of density and color. Manufactures an inkjet recording apparatus using a pigment and an inkjet recording apparatus using a pigment ink.

  However, manufacturing an ink jet recording apparatus having an ink tank holder dedicated to dye ink or an ink tank holder dedicated to pigment ink has a large cost demerit from the viewpoint of a manufacturer managing inventory. Also, from the environmental aspect that has become severe in recent years, it is preferable that the number of units to be stocked is small because damage to the environment is small.

  Therefore, the present invention reduces the risk of inventory cost on the manufacturer side, and suppresses damage to the environment due to inventory disposal, and enables switching of dyes and pigments, thereby enabling customers to use dye inks. In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can be used as a pigment ink.

The inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention is an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink onto a recording medium.
Having an ink tank holder to which an ink tank having uneven portions of different uneven shapes depending on the type of stored ink is mounted ;
The ink tank holder has identification means for identifying the uneven shape of the ink tank to be installed,
The identification means has a concavo-convex concavo-convex engaging portion,
The concave / convex engaging portion can be engaged with the concave / convex portion of the ink tank containing any type of ink in a state before the ink tank is mounted. As a result, the concave / convex shape of the concave / convex engaging portion changes into a concave / convex shape corresponding to the concave / convex portion of the ink tank once mounted, so that an ink tank containing other types of ink cannot be mounted. It is configured.

In addition, the uneven shape of the uneven portion differs between the ink tank that stores the dye ink and the ink tank that stores the pigment ink, and the uneven engagement portion of the identification means temporarily stores the ink tank that stores the dye ink and the pigment ink. When one of the ink tanks to be stored is attached, it may be changed and fixed to an uneven shape in which the other ink tank cannot be attached .

In addition, the uneven portion of the ink tank includes a color identification portion having a different uneven shape depending on the color of the ink stored in the ink tank, and an uneven shape that differs depending on whether the ink stored in the ink tank is dye ink or pigment ink. The concave / convex engagement portion of the identification means includes a color engagement portion corresponding to the color identification portion and an ink type engagement portion corresponding to the ink type identification portion. it may have.

In the initial state, the color engagement portion of the ink tank holder is a color identification portion of the ink tank containing the specific color ink so that only the ink tank containing the specific color ink can be mounted. Correspondingly, as long as the ink color is a specific color, the ink type engaging part may be mounted on any ink tank provided with any kind of ink type identifying part.

Further, the ink type engaging portion may be changed to an uneven shape corresponding to the ink type identifying portion of the ink tank by mounting the ink tank.

In addition, the concave and convex shape of the ink type engaging portion is formed by a movable convex rib , and the rib is moved and fixed according to the concave and convex shape of the ink type identifying portion of the installed ink tank. It may be.

Further, even after the rib is fixed, it may be possible to release the fixing .

The color for the seed engaging portion may be configured to have a convex rib which is fixed.
In addition, the ink tank holder can be mounted with a plurality of ink tanks, and each ink tank may be mounted at a specific position where a concave and convex engaging portion corresponding to the concave and convex shape of each concave and convex portion is formed. .

  As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the cost demerits due to inventory risk by making it possible to mount any of a plurality of types of ink tanks in one ink tank holder. . In addition, it is possible to reduce damage to the environment due to disposal of inventory.

  Furthermore, for customers, by releasing the convex ribs once fixed, it can be used again as an ink jet recording apparatus for dyes and an ink jet recording apparatus for pigments, so that two types of products are provided. The same product can be provided, and there is no problem of placing a burden on the customer in terms of cost and service because they want to make the two types of products the same.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Here, the overall configuration of the recording apparatus will be described first, and then the ink tank and the holder corresponding to the ink tank will be described.
[Overall configuration of the device]
FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, and particularly shows around the head and the center of an ink supply path.

  In the illustrated ink jet recording apparatus, as shown in FIG. 1, an ink tank 3 (see FIG. 2) is mounted on an ink tank holder 2, and the ink tank 3 and the carriage 4 are connected by a tube 11. The ink is supplied to the head via the tube 11.

  The recording medium is stored in the recording medium storage unit 1 and is conveyed onto a platen (not shown) by a driving roller (not shown) that is driven to rotate, and then the recording medium is sucked onto the platen by a suction fan (not shown). The recording medium is pressed against a conveyance roller (not shown) by a pinch roller shown in the drawing, and then the position and width (size) of the recording medium are read by a reflection optical sensor (not shown) attached to the carriage 4 and are recorded by a recording means. Perform predetermined recording. After recording, the recording medium is discharged, and then the recording medium is cut with a cutter (not shown).

  An image is recorded on the recording medium conveyed on the platen by the recording means. The recording means according to the present embodiment uses a serial type ink jet recording method, and the carriage 4 is positioned at a position facing the platen. 1 is slidably held by a guide shaft 5 so as to be reciprocally movable in the A direction. A timing belt hung on a pulley driven by a carriage motor (not shown) is engaged with the carriage 4, and the carriage motor is driven in accordance with a recording operation to reciprocate the carriage 4 in the main scanning direction. .

  A recording head 6 is detachably loaded on the carriage 4, and the recording head 6 is provided so that the ink discharge port faces the platen, and recording is performed on the recording head 6 in accordance with the movement of the carriage 4. By transmitting a signal, liquid ink is ejected from the ejection port to record an image on a recording medium.

In this embodiment, the ink ejection configuration is such that the electrothermal transducer is energized in accordance with the recording signal, and the ink is generated by the growth and contraction of bubbles generated in the ink by utilizing the film boiling generated in the ink by the thermal energy. Is discharged from the discharge port to perform recording.
[Ink tank]
2A to 2D are three views of the ink tank according to this embodiment. 2 (a) is a right side view of FIG. 2 (c), FIG. 2 (b) is a top view of FIG. 2 (c), and FIG. 2 (d) is a right side view of FIG. 2 (c). It is.

  The ink tank 3 has an uneven portion 7 for identifying the type of color and the dye or pigment. The concavo-convex portion 7 is composed of seven cuttable claws, and among these, a predetermined claw portion is cut out to identify each color and identify the dye ink or pigment ink.

  3A to 3F are top views of various colors, the shape of the uneven portion 7 of the ink tank 3 with dye ink and pigment ink, and the corresponding convex rib shape of the ink tank holder 2. .

  Of the seven claws of the concavo-convex portion 7, the portion to be cut out is painted black. 3A to 3F show the shape of the uneven portion 7 in the order of black, photocyan, cyan, photomagenta, magenta, and yellow for each color from the top. The shape of the uneven portion 7 of the pigment ink is shown on the left side of each of FIGS. 3A to 3F, and the shape of the uneven portion 7 of the dye ink is shown on the right side, and the convex rib 10 of the ink tank holder 2 is shown. Among them, the ribs blacked out indicate a specific arrangement of the ribs 10a for pigment ink and the ribs 10b for dye ink.

  As can be seen from this figure, each color of black, photocyan, cyan, photomagenta, magenta, and yellow is identified by a combination of seven claws of the concavo-convex portion 7. This combination is defined for each color regardless of whether the ink is pigment ink or dye ink. For example, in the case of black, the concave portion of the concave and convex portion 7 is the second and third positions from the left.

  In addition, the concave portion of the uneven portion 7 for dye identification in the ink tank 3 for dye ink is in the same position for each color, and is the second position from the right of the seven claws of the uneven portion 7. Further, the concave portion of the uneven portion 7 for identifying the pigment in the ink tank 3 for the pigment ink is also in the same position for each color, and is at the left end position among the seven claws of the uneven portion 7. In addition, the dye ink and the pigment ink are identified by arranging two claws out of the seven claws of the concavo-convex portion 7 of the ink tank, and the arrangement is the same if they are the same color.

That is, in this embodiment, the concave portion of the concavo-convex portion 7 that defines the color of the ink is independently defined regardless of the ink type whether it is a pigment ink or a dye ink, The concave portion of the concavo-convex portion 7 that defines the ink type is also defined independently of the color of the ink.
[Ink tank holder]
4 is a perspective view of the ink tank holder 2, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the ink tank holder as viewed from above.

The ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment is a six-color recording apparatus, and the ink tanks 3 of black, 3bk, photocyan 3pc, cyan 3c, photomagenta 3pm, magenta 3m, and yellow 3y are sequentially arranged from the back side in FIG. It is configured to attach. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the ink tank holder 2 in a state where the ink tank 3 is not yet mounted. The ink tank holder 2 has a black tank socket 8bk, a photocyan tank socket 8pc, a cyan tank socket 8c, a photomagenta tank socket 8pm, and a magenta tank socket 8m for mounting the ink tanks 3 of the respective colors. A tank socket 8 consisting of a yellow tank socket 8 y is provided in the ink tank holder 2, and a convex rib 10 corresponding to the concave and convex portion 7 of the ink tank 3 is provided in the tank socket 8. That is, the convex rib 10 is an identification means for identifying the ink type and the ink color, and is a concave / convex engaging portion corresponding to the concave / convex portion 7. Of the convex ribs 10 of the tank socket 8, the convex rib 10 for identifying the ink type corresponds to the concave and convex portion 7 for identifying the ink type of the ink tank 3, and the convex rib of the tank socket 8. Among these, the convex rib 10 for identifying the ink color is provided corresponding to the concave-convex portion 7 for identifying the ink color of the ink tank 3 (see FIGS. 3 and 6).
In FIG. 5, only the black tank socket 8 is shown in detail.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the state of the convex ribs of the tank socket of the black ink tank mounting portion for explaining the configuration of the ink tank holder of the present invention.

  FIG. 6A shows the state of the convex ribs in the initial state before mounting the ink tank, and FIG. 6B shows the state of the convex ribs when the pigment ink tank is mounted. ) Shows the state of the convex rib when the ink tank for dye is mounted.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in an initial state, two ribs fixed for black so that a black ink tank can be mounted, and two ribs 10a and 10b for distinguishing a dye and a pigment. Is in a protruding state. In this state, the two ribs 10a and 10b are provided so as to be movable. By mounting the black ink tank 3, one of the two movable convex ribs 10a and 10b can be selected. When pressed, the two convex ribs 10a and 10b, which are not pressed and pressed, are fixed together. In the present embodiment, when the pigment ink tank is mounted, the rib 10a corresponding to the leftmost uneven portion 7 of the ink tank 3 is left protruding as shown in FIG. 6B. The rib 10b corresponding to the second uneven portion 7 fixed from the right of the ink tank 3 is moved upward in the drawing by the ink tank 3 and fixed in a state of being retracted from the uneven portion 7 of the ink tank 3. As a result, only the installed ink tank 3 can be attached to the tank socket 8 in the future. That is, the ink color that can be attached to the tank socket 8 is specified in advance, but whether it is dedicated to the pigment ink tank or the dye ink tank is specified only after the ink tank 3 is attached. . In FIG. 6, the tank socket 8 of the ink tank holder 2 is in a state where FIG. 6 (b) is dedicated to the pigment ink tank, and FIG. 6 (c) is in a state dedicated to the dye ink tank. In the present embodiment, the configuration in which the ink type is defined by mounting the ink tank is shown as an example, but the configuration may be such that the ink color is defined by mounting the ink tank as necessary. .

  As described above, the distinction between the dye ink tank and the pigment ink tank is identified by the specific convex ribs 10a and 10b, and the ink color identification rib is the same as the dye ink tank and the pigment ink tank. Thus, the configuration of the main body side can be simplified and the size can be reduced without unnecessarily increasing the number of ribs for identification.

  Next, in order to explain the configuration of the tank socket 8, FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of the tank socket 8 in an initial state before the ink tank is installed as viewed from the rear side. Further, FIG. 8A shows a top view in the initial state, and FIG. 8B shows a top view in a state where the ink tank is removed after the pigment ink tank is mounted.

  The tank socket 8 includes two movable convex ribs 10a and 10b for identifying a dye and a pigment, two fixed convex ribs for identifying a color, and a movable rib 10a, The rib slider 9 is linked to 10b.

  The rib slider 9 is held by the concave holding portion of the tank socket 8 so as to be slidable in the horizontal direction in the figure. The rib slider 9 has a substantially vertical direction of the convex rib so that only one of the movable convex ribs 10a and 10b slides in the lateral direction only when the rib slider 9 is pressed with a certain force or more in the substantially vertical direction. A convex portion for converting the pressing force into the sliding direction is provided.

  That is, when the ink tank 3 is mounted, the movable rib 10b moves in the direction of the arrow a as shown in FIG. 9 is configured to slide in the direction of the arrow b, that is, the movable convex rib that does not move, and to fix the movable convex rib that does not move. The moved movable convex rib is fixed by a claw protruding from the tank socket 8 side.

  In the present embodiment, the movable convex ribs 10a and 10b for identifying the ink tanks for dye and pigment are both fixed after the ink tank is initially attached by the user.

  However, it is possible to return to the initial state again by releasing the claw of the moved convex rib and moving the rib slider 9 to the initial position even after it has been fixed once, for example, by a serviceman. is there. By returning to the original state, it can be used again for both dye ink and pigment ink. Although there is a possibility that the dye ink and the pigment ink are mixed in the initial stage, it can be used without any particular problem by performing a recovery operation when the ink tank is initially mounted. Further, not only for service personnel, but after recycling the recording device, the movable convex rib is returned to the initial position at the factory or the like, so that the recording device can use both dye and pigment inks. .

  In the above embodiment, an example of a black tank socket has been described. Similarly, other colors are also provided with fixed convex ribs and dyes for identifying colors, and movable convex shapes for identifying ink tanks for pigments. The effect of the present invention can be applied by the rib.

1 is a front view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a three-side view of an ink tank. It is a schematic top view of the ink tank uneven | corrugated | grooved part of each color, dye, and pigment. It is a perspective view of an ink tank holder. It is a top view of an ink tank holder. It is a schematic top view of the convex rib part of a tank socket. It is a rear surface perspective view of a tank socket. It is a top view of a tank socket.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording medium storage part 2 Ink tank holder 3 Ink tank 4 Carriage 5 Guide shaft 6 Recording head 7 Irregular part 8 Tank socket 9 Rib slider 10a, 10b Rib

Claims (9)

In an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink onto a recording medium,
Having an ink tank holder to which an ink tank having uneven portions of different uneven shapes depending on the type of stored ink is mounted ;
The ink tank holder has identification means for identifying the uneven shape of the ink tank to be mounted,
The identification means has a concavo-convex concavo-convex engaging portion,
The concave / convex engaging portion can be engaged with any concave / convex portion of the ink tank that stores any type of ink in a state before the ink tank is mounted. By mounting the ink tank, the concave / convex shape of the concave / convex engaging portion is changed and fixed to the concave / convex shape corresponding to the concave / convex portion of the ink tank once mounted, and stores other types of ink. An ink jet recording apparatus configured so that an ink tank to be mounted cannot be mounted . The concavo-convex shape of the concavo-convex part is different between the ink tank that stores dye ink and the ink tank that stores pigment ink, and the concavo-convex engaging part of the identification unit temporarily stores the ink ink, 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when one of the ink tanks for containing pigment ink is attached, the ink tank is changed and fixed into a concavo-convex shape in which the other ink tank cannot be attached . The concavo-convex portion of the ink tank differs depending on a color identification portion having a different concavo-convex shape depending on the color of the ink stored in the ink tank and whether the ink stored in the ink tank is dye ink or pigment ink. An ink type identification unit having a concavo-convex shape, wherein the concavo-convex engagement unit of the identification unit includes a color engagement unit corresponding to the color identification unit and an ink type corresponding to the ink type identification unit. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an engaging portion for use . In an initial state, the color engaging portion of the ink tank holder has the color of the ink tank storing the specific color so that only the ink tank storing the specific color ink can be mounted. 4. The ink jet recording according to claim 3, wherein the ink type engaging unit can be attached to the ink tank provided with any kind of ink type identifying unit as long as the ink color corresponds to the identifying unit and the color of the ink is the specific color. apparatus. 5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the ink type engaging portion changes to a concavo-convex shape corresponding to the ink type identifying portion of the ink tank when the ink tank is mounted . The concave and convex shape of the ink type engaging portion is formed by a movable convex rib , and the rib is moved and fixed according to the concave and convex shape of the ink type identifying portion of the mounted ink tank. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the rib can be released even after the rib is fixed. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 6 or 7 have a convex rib which is fixed the color for the seed engaging portion. The ink tank holder can be mounted with a plurality of ink tanks, and each of the ink tanks can be mounted at a specific position where the concave-convex engaging portion corresponding to the concave-convex shape of the concave-convex portion is formed. Item 9. The ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 8.

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